Antarctic conservation – an opportunity of a lifetime

27 January 2026

Margaret Cooke, a founding director of Integral, is about to embark on an extraordinary journey: two months in Antarctica assessing the structural integrity of four historic British Antarctic Research Stations.

The buildings are looked after by the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust (UKAHT) and are visited by thousands of people every year. Anyone who travels to the Antarctic from Chile or Argentina will almost certainly visit at least one of the UKAHT sites. You can see a map and read about the buildings here: Heritage | UKAHT

The buildings were research facilities, often built by the scientists who lived and worked in them. They give a fascinating insight into the early days of the British Antarctic Survey, with bunk beds, cooking equipment, and laboratories and artifacts such as tins of food, books and scientific instruments.

Now the harsh climate is taking its toll on the buildings, which are largely timber on concrete plinths. UKAHT are at the start of a significant programme of conservation work to secure the future of these buildings. The first step is a proper assessment of the existing situation including verifying what was actually built against the original drawings. With over 30 years of experience, almost all in the specialist field of conservation engineering, Margaret brings invaluable expertise to this team. Margaret’s contribution will be both practical; literally drawing, measuring and recording and assessing the buildings; and strategic, helping the Trust to consider and prioritise the solutions.

Margaret will spend the first half of her trip in Port Lockroy, the only manned station on this expedition, and Damoy. The second half will take her further south to Horseshoe and Stonington, which requires camping beside the buildings in the snow.

Whilst incredibly exciting, working in such remote conditions requires rigorous preparation. Pre-deployment training included wilderness first aid, how to look after the generators and wildlife monitoring!

“This is my dream project. It perfectly combines my hobbies of walking, running and camping in remote places with my work in historic buildings in need of protection.”

Follow Margaret’s journey as she shares updates from Antarctica over the coming weeks on her blog.